his hands dyed in the blood of the women and children slain by his savage allies; while the former answered that he was not to blame for obeying the orders of his superiors, and that he himself had done all he could to make the savages act mercifully.  It was finally agreed that the garrison, seventy-nine men in all, [Footnote:  Letter to Henry.  Hamilton’s letter says sixty rank and file of the 8th regiment and Detroit volunteers; the other nineteen were officers and under-officers, artillerymen, and French partisan leaders.  The return of the garrison already quoted shows he had between eighty and ninety white troops.] should surrender as prisoners of war.  The British commander has left on record his bitter mortification at having to yield the fort “to a set of uncivilized Virginia woodsmen armed with rifles.”  In truth, it was a most notable achievement.  Clark had taken, without artillery, a heavy stockade, protected by cannon and swivels, and garrisoned by trained soldiers.  His superiority in numbers was very far from being in itself sufficient to bring about the result, as witness the almost invariable success with which the similar but smaller Kentucky forts, unprovided with artillery and held by fewer men, were defended against much larger forces than Clark’s.  Much credit belongs to Clark’s men, but most belongs to their leader.  The boldness of his plan and the resolute skill with which he followed it out, his perseverance through the intense hardships of the midwinter march, the address with which he kept the French and Indians neutral, and the masterful way in which he controlled his own troops, together with the ability and courage he displayed in the actual attack, combined to make his feat the most memorable of all the deeds done west of the Alleghanies in the Revolutionary war. [Footnote:  Hamilton himself, at the conclusion of his “brief account,” speaks as follows in addressing his superiors:  “The difficulties and dangers of Colonel Clark’s march from the Illinois were such as required great courage to encounter and great perseverance to overcome.  In trusting to traitors he was more fortunate than myself; whether, on the whole, he was entitled to success is not for me to determine.”  Both Clark and Hamilton give minute accounts of various interviews that took place between them; the accounts do not agree, and it is needless to say that in the narration of each the other appears to disadvantage, being quoted as practically admitting various acts of barbarity, etc.] It was likewise the most important in its results, for had he been defeated we would not only have lost the Illinois, but in all probability Kentucky also.

    Capture of a Convoy from Detroit.